Inspiring Women of the Web & Technology

In light of March being women’s history month, I thought it was time for us to take a break from the recession and quickly reflect on great women who have made strides in the web industry.  May these women motivate and inspire you to create cutting edge technology, leverage the web to create a new business, or continue to strive for excellence every day.

Naomi Simson - Founder and CEO, Red Balloon Days

From marketing to entrepreneurship, Naomi has taken her passion for pleasure seriously as a career option, creating the #1 Gift site in Australia and New Zealand four years running.

Marissa Mayer - VP Search Products and User Experience, Google

Ten years after becoming Google’s first female engineer on staff, Marissa now leads product management on all search related products - web, maps, desktop, earth and more.  Marissa is an example on how sticking with a company willling to groom and train their employees can create shining stars.

Esther Dyson - Independent Investor and Entrepreneur

From writing for then flipping EDventures to CNET (thought reclaimed the name for personal business), becoming the founding chair of ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) to publishing a book on how the Internet affects individual lives, she has influenced a lot of people on the web.  She now dabbles in many different companies, often becoming an early investor or board member of online startups, which have included Flickr and del.icio.us.

Alex Beauchamp - Independent Consultant, Girl at Play

Alex is noted to be one of the first females to create a personal web site back in 1995.  She now owns a prosperous design company, having completed projects for many well known brands, including Disney, Washington Post and Anthropologie.

Lynne D Johnson - Director, Social Media, Fastcompany.com

Lynne is a professional journalist and blogger, having won numerous awards for her work, including the 2006 Black Blogger Achievement Award.  Before Fastcompany she held the position of General Manager of new media for SPIN, VIBE and VIBE Vixen.

Who are other Women of the Web Leaders who, famous or not, creating the technology supporting it or leveraging the web in new ways, have inspired you?